


be brave and be kind

by poseidon



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Backstory, Bodhi Rook Deserves Happiness, Character Study, Gen, M/M, Pre-Rogue One
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 16:27:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9080380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poseidon/pseuds/poseidon
Summary: The thing is, if Bodhi did have a choice, he wouldn’t have gone to the Empire to get a job.





	

The thing is, if Bodhi did have a choice, he wouldn’t have gone to the Empire to get a job. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice, so he does have to go to them to get a job.

It’s not an easy decision. Jedha isn’t the best place to go out and openly admit to not actively hate the Empire, much less than go out and seek employment opportunities. In fact, his own father has repeatedly said, “The Empire is full of kriffing scum, and you’d do best to remember that,” before draining an entire bottle of ale in one sip.

Now that he thinks about it, Bodhi isn’t sure how much of that was actually anti-Empire sentiment versus incoherent drunken ramblings. It is popular on Jedha to blame all your problems on the Empire or the freedom fighters or both, if you’ve had a particularly nasty day, and while most problems can be attributed to them, he sincerely doubts that his mother leaving his father for a spice trader has anything to do with either parties.

His father probably doesn’t even remember telling Bodhi what he’d told him all those years ago, since he’s too busy drinking himself half to death – which brings Bodhi back to the problem at hand, which is that he’s running swiftly out of credits and soon won’t be able to support himself or his father.

 _Just another day in the life_ , he supposes, as he approaches one of the Empire’s informational kiosks. It’s a tiny tent with a droid inside and two Stormtroopers who likely should be standing guard but seem to be more lounging than guarding.

Bodhi can’t really say he blames them – it’s a boring job. Most people don’t even know that there’s a kiosk here and if they did, it wouldn’t be here anymore.

The droid itself is pretty nice, considering it works for the Empire. It takes its time to help Bodhi understand what they’re looking for, helps him list out his qualifications, and tells him that the Empire will get in touch within two to three days to tell him if he’s gotten the job or not.

“You applying for one of those pilot jobs?” one of the troopers asks when Bodhi finally walks out.

“Yeah,” Bodhi says.

“You better hope you get an easy route, if you get one at all,” the trooper says. “There’s a high turnover rate for some of them, if you know what I mean.”

Bodhi swallows. “I think I do.” He clears his throat and starts the long walk back to his home. His hands shake. Why didn’t he think of this before – getting a job with the Empire is superbly dangerous, with all the rebels and insurrections on nearly every single planet. Even Jedha, for that matter. Kriff, if any of Saw Gererra's men catch even so much as a whiff of his new job, then, well...

Bodhi swallows hard and tugs at the collar of his shirt. _Maybe I'll just pretend it never happened and try to find a different job_ , he thinks, as he approaches his home. _Hopefully whatever message they send doesn't scream 'Empire' so I won't have to move out in the middle of the night._

He tries to come up with some alternative job but then, then he sees his father crashed on the couch, a bottle in his hand and his head leaned back with his mouth hanging open as he snores.

Bodhi sighs. Well, there's the reason why he decided to join the Empire in the first place. He can't support his father's drinking habit for long, and who knows what would happen once they run out of credits. He can't even think about it.

He pulls a blanket over his father, tucking him in and throwing the bottles away.

* * *

To their credit, the Empire is subtle when they send their message. It comes to his personal holopad in the middle of the night with three layers of encryption and it takes Bodhi a bit to actually read it.

_Mr. Rook… pleased to inform you… necessary qualifications… accept your request –_

Oh, _shit_. Oh _shit_. He did it. He’s done it. He’s got a job with the Galactic Empire as a – he pauses a moment and looks back at the message – as a reserve cargo pilot. This is all actually happening. Oh kriffing _shit_.

His hands shake as he skims through the rest of the messages, trying to figure out when he’s supposed to start his work, but all he can find is a message about a mandatory induction program he has to attend tomorrow. Wait – _tomorrow_?

 _Oh,_ kriff _,_ he thinks, _I haven’t even packed yet._ He does it quickly – there’s not much he has to pack, aside from a change of clothes and his holopad. He puts his bags by the door and finds his father on the couch, as usual, drinking his ale and scrolling through his own pad.

“Dad,” Bodhi starts. He clears his throat. “Dad, I have to go off-planet for a couple of days.”

At first, he doesn’t think his father heard him, as he doesn’t move to acknowledge his words in any way, but then he grunts, “Why?”

“I got a job,” he replies quickly. “As a cargo pilot.”

“For?”

Bodhi swallows hard. “For, uh… for the Empire.”

He scoffs and looks up at him, eyes disturbingly bloodshot. Bodhi can’t even look at them, eyes drifting to his hands instead, as calloused and rough as they are. “You’re going to work for the Galactic Empire? Has nothing I’ve ever said stuck in that head of yours?”

“We need the extra credits and I thought –” Bodhi tries to counter but his father cuts him off.

“Of course _you’d_ be the child to sell yourself out like that,” he huffs. “We wouldn’t be in this situation if your sister was still here.”

 _And she’d still be here if you hadn’t –_ Bodhi stops his train of thought before it can come spilling out of his mouth and he takes a deep breath to swallow it down. “I’ll be back in a couple of days. Please, try to stay out of trouble.” He heads out the door and doesn’t look back.

His feet seem to move on their own accord, guiding him to the departure ports and he looks around for any sight of a ship that, according to the message, is supposed to take him to a research facility on some other planet. A part of his mind doesn’t seem to want to focus on this, however, instead choosing to think about how, if anyone found out what he was doing and where he was going, he’d most likely be killed on the spot.

There’s a hand on his shoulder and Bodhi nearly screams as he whips around to see who it is – it’s possibly the only time he’ll ever be pleased to see a Stormtrooper this close to him.

“Are you Bodhi Rook?” the trooper asks.

“Y-yes,” Bodhi replies, voice slightly cracking.

“Come with me.”

“Okay.” He follows him, keeping a wary eye out for anyone who looks like they’d work with Saw Gerrera, and they walk into a generic Empire transport ship. The cockpit is tiny – barely enough room for the both of them, and Bodhi is just about to make himself comfortable when the trooper tosses some clothes at him.

“Go and put these on,” he says, before turning his attention to starting up the ship.

Bodhi, too nervous and afraid to ask where the restroom is, changes out in the hallway right outside the cockpit. It’s some Imperial dress uniform, a little loose around the chest and a little long on the pantlegs, but he’s not going to complain. And yes, it has everything to do with being too afraid to tell someone.

They’re in hyperspace by the time he returns, and he does his best to slide right into his seat without disrupting the trooper. He crashes into the seat and the trooper turns to him and Bodhi’s pretty sure he’s glaring until he finally manages to sit down.

Bodhi’s prepared to sit there in silence for the duration of the trip, when the trooper turns back to the controls and speaks. “You’ve got to keep your uniform on at all times while you’re here. Your new identification number is on there and there will be times when officers will check to make sure you’re wearing the correct uniform issued to you.”

“Okay,” Bodhi replies, not sure of what else to say. The Empire always sounded so efficient and, clearly, they were.

They exit out of hyperspace and, once he’s faced with the majesty of an entirely new planet, it occurs to Bodhi that this is the first time he’s been off of Jedha in a long while. He used to travel a lot when his sister was around but, then again, that was back when his sister was around.

The planet looks like nothing Bodhi’s ever seen, with a vast shield covering the entire planet and a Star Destroyer hanging above. It’s bigger than the one on Jedha, and Bodhi doesn’t know how he should feel about that. “What planet is this?” he asks the trooper, who ignores him in favour of getting them through the shield gate.

Bodhi’s looking at the giant – base? citadel? whatever it is – and trying not to gape when the trooper says, “Scarif.”

“What?”

“Scarif,” he repeats. “That’s the planet we’re on. And that,” he points at the giant building, “is where you’ll be staying for the next few days.”

“Uh huh,” Bodhi says. He doesn’t think he’s doing a good job of not gaping.

They touch down in one of the landing pads (Bodhi forgot to pay attention to which one) and he starts grabbing his bag as they head out of the ship.

“The program starts at 0900 hours tomorrow and should end the next day, at the same time,” the trooper explains as they walk through the halls. Bodhi has a hard time keeping track of what he’s saying while being intimidated by his surroundings at the same time. Everyone around him looks busy, important, or both. Kriff, what’s he _doing_ here?

The trooper continues on talking, unintentionally (or not) ignoring Bodhi’s subtle breakdown. “The mess hall is to the left of your room, and the hall for the opening ceremony is to your right. If you get lost or have any questions, any of the Stormtroopers on duty should be willing to help you out.”

They stop walking and it takes Bodhi a second to realise that they must’ve arrived at his room. He nods and clears his throat. “Thanks, uh… I’m sorry, but what’s your name?”

“My designation is CT-7430,” the trooper replies.

“And that’s what I’m supposed to call you?” Bodhi asks.

“Us troopers have some informal nicknames we share among ourselves, but for you, my designation should work just fine.” He pauses a moment and regards Bodhi. “Normally, I’d tell you what landing pad to meet me at and when to get there by, but I think it would be easier for the both of us if I just found you after the closing session.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” Bodhi agrees. He clears his throat again. “Thanks, CT-7430. I’ll, uh, see you around.”

CT-7430 walks away and Bodhi enters his room. It’s a little, well… bland. That’s the word – bland. There’s not much there except a bed, a closet, and a door to the restroom. Not even an entertainment centre or anything.

 _No wonder troopers are always so irritable,_ he thinks. He sits down on the bed and pulls out his holopad. There’s a message waiting for him from his father, and he has a good idea as to what it probably says. No way he wants to deal with something like this right now.

He sits back and plays some games on the pad, until his stomach growls to remind him that he hasn’t eaten anything since last night back on Jedha. Tossing aside the pad, he adjusts his uniform and heads out of his room.

The hallway is deserted, but CT-7430 gave him directions just a few minutes ago on how to get to the mess hall and Bodhi isn’t a _complete_ airhead so he should remember which way it is. And so, with great confidence, he steps out and starts to explore.

Which is how, moments later, he finds himself utterly lost with no idea how he got there. He’s fairly certain he’s wandered onto some place he isn’t supposed to be – all the rooms around him are filled with scientific equipment and people conducting some experiments or something. Whatever they were doing, he certainly can’t interrupt them to ask where he is. He’s not even supposed to be here!

 _Shouldn’t have gone up that lift, I’m guessing_ , Bodhi thinks. _Maybe if I retrace my steps…_ He turns around and nearly screams when he runs straight into someone. “Oh, kriff – I’m so sorry, I –” he stumbles backward, trying to regain his footing and look like he knows what he’s doing.

“It’s quite all right,” the man says. He straightens himself out and then, just as Bodhi feared, narrows his eyes. “You don’t work here, do you?”

 _Oh,_ kriff _,_ Bodhi thinks. He’s never been very good under pressure and before he can stop himself, everything comes spilling out. “Look, I know this looks bad but I _swear_ this was an accident – I didn’t mean to come up here I just – I was just – I’m new here and I just – I can’t find the mess hall and – well, I haven’t eaten since yesterday and – well…”

He trails off once he’s run out of panicked adrenaline, staring up at the man and hoping he hasn’t somehow accidentally implicated himself in anything when, to his surprise, the man laughs.

It’s just a laugh. Just a normal, average, amused laugh. He smiles and says, “All I managed to gather from that is that you’re lost. I take it you’re a new recruit?”

Bodhi nods. He’s still a little out of breath.

“Well, you’ve certainly made several wrong turns in your trip to the mess hall. Lucky for you, I was just headed there myself.” He gives him another smile. “Would you mind if I escorted you there?”

“I think that’s the only way I’m ever going to get there,” Bodhi admits, and manages a slight smile when the man laughs again. He clears his throat and holds out his hand. “Bodhi Rook.”

The man pauses for the slightest moment, then takes his hand. “Galen Erso.” He starts walking and gestures Bodhi to follow. “This tower does have a very confusing design, certainly, but one gets used to it after a while.”

“You’d think they’d put up maps or something,” Bodhi mumbles.

“Normally, the people who are stationed here are intimately familiar with the layout,” Galen explains. He leads Bodhi into the lift and takes them down. “Then again, they also don’t usually have any of the initiation programs here.”

“Sounds like poor planning,” Bodhi thinks, and then wishes he hadn’t just said that because what if this man was the one to plan everything and man, can he _please_ stop putting his foot in his mouth or else they might fire him before he’s even actually hired?

Galen, however, nods in agreement. “You’d think the Empire would have better oversight on these sorts of matters but, well, they’re only human, aren’t they?”

Bodhi thinks of the rumours and whispers he’s heard about the leaders of the Galactic Empire – specifically someone called Darth Vader – and responds with a vague shrug.

The mess hall, when they get there, is fairly packed Bodhi had been expecting less people, considering that it’s the middle of the night on this planet (as far as he can tell), but there are still plenty of empty spaces available.

 “This is… this is nice,” Bodhi says. He looks around and then at Galen. “Where do you, um, get your food from?”

“Over there are the food dispensers,” Galen points to a corner where people seem to have lined up. “I’m not sure what the menu is for tonight. Hopefully something decent.”

Bodhi doesn’t really pay attention – he’s too busy trying to figure out what the kriff a food dispenser is. He follows Galen without thinking much and then, something occurs to him. “Hey, uh, Mr. Erso?”

“Please, call me Galen.”

“Okay, um, _Galen_ ,” Bodhi says slowly, “you, uh, don’t really need to keep helping me out like this. We’ve made it to the mess hall, I should be able to do the rest on my own.”

Galen raises a brow. “Are you sure? You _were_ spectacularly lost a few moments ago.”

The tips of Bodhi’s ears go pink and he clears his throat. “That, uh – you make an excellent point. But that was just a mistake – a really huge mistake, yeah, but I’m usually much more competent than that.”

Galen gives him a look of exaggerated disbelief. “If you say so.”

“I do say so,” Bodhi replies, indignant. He reaches the dispenser and stares at it for a good moment when Galen leans over, presses a few buttons, and hands him a plate. He looks from the plate and back to Galen. “I suppose that didn’t really help my argument much.”

“No, it did not,” Galen says. He takes Bodhi to a seat by the window, overlooking the moonlight beaches that seem so tiny at such a height.

“So,” Bodhi says after a few minutes of silent eating, “how bad is your job if you’re willingly babysitting a new recruit like me?”

“It’s not that bad,” Galen admits. He twirls his fork around absently as he speaks, eyes darting from Bodhi to the window and back again. “I’m a scientist. My team and I are working here for the moment on a special project.”

“What kind of project?” Bodhi asks, shovelling down another mouthful.

“That matter is classified.”

“Classified?” Bodhi repeats. “Wow, that’s – that’s big.”

“Indeed it is.” Galen seems to be on the verge of saying something more, but then there’s a sudden buzzing noise and he pulls out a small communications device. He frowns and gives Bodhi an apologetic look. “Turns out that my team has decided to cut my dinner break short.” He stands up. “It was nice meeting you, Bodhi Rook. I hope we see each other again.”

Bodhi swallows down his food and nods. “Yeah, nice meeting you too.” He watches him go before returning his focus back on his food. It tastes a thousand times better than anything that’s been available on Jedha for a while, and he can’t imagine eating something like this every single day.

It puts him in a good mood, the food and the company – enough so that when he finally manages to get back to his room, he checks his pad and finally reads his father’s message. It’s nothing he didn’t expect, just a half-hearted apology and generic well-wishes, but Bodhi sends back a message thanking him.

Maybe working for the Empire won’t be so bad after all, he thinks.

* * *

The first thing Bodhi notices when he walks into the hall is that everyone there looks like him. Not _exactly_ like him, of course, but the same general features – human, hollow cheeks, tired eyes, ill-fitting uniforms, and the general air of not feeling like they quite belong there.

He takes a seat near the back and adjusts his hat in an effort to relax himself. It doesn’t work. At all. His hands shake as he crosses them in his lap and he wonders how long it’ll take for him to finally feel like he belongs.

He looks around at everyone else and wonders if they’re thinking the same thing.

Distracted, he ends up missing the part when a man comes up to the podium at the front, billowing robe behind him as he stands tall and addresses the hall with some opening speech or something. _Kriff_ , Bodhi thinks, and focuses in quickly.

“As you all know,” the man continues, “you have all been given the opportunity to serve the Galactic Empire in our efforts to bring peace and order to the galaxy. It is not necessary for all of you to attend any of the Imperial Academies, but, due to the specific nature of the jobs you have been chosen for, you do require some basic knowledge and information to conduct your work in the most efficient manner possible.”

He looks around the room, eyes briefly passing over Bodhi, who feels the hairs standing up on the back of his neck.

“By this time tomorrow, you will know all the rules and regulations necessary to be in the Galactic Empire, as well as the requirements and specifications of your individual jobs. I look forward to serving with you all.”

The man leaves and someone else starts talking but Bodhi can’t focus on anything but the sinking feeling in his gut.

They don’t get a break until lunch and by then, Bodhi feels like his mind is turning into mush, filled with protocols and codes and whatever else pilots need to know while they’re off on a delivery.

“I don’t even know when I’d use any of these codes,” he mumbles to himself, standing in line for one of the food dispensers.

A man scoffs behind him. “Boy, do I feel the same.” He gives Bodhi a grimace and inclines his head. “I’m only a farmer but my group leader kept talking about etiquette when dealing with different types of troopers.”

“My group leader didn’t talk anything about that,” Bodhi says. “But, then again, we’ve got half a day left, don’t we?”

“I can’t wait,” he deadpans. They end up sitting together at a table and the man holds out his hand. “Krycek.”

“Bodhi,” he takes his hand with a smile before starting on his food. “So, where are you from?”

Krycek swallows his bite. “Tatooine,” he says.

“Oh, really? I’m from Jedha,” Bodhi replies. He smiles a little. “They’re both kind of similar, aren’t they – desert planets, not very lawful…”

“Hard to live in, especially with the Hutts,” Krycek agrees. “I mean, it isn’t terrible, as long as you stay on their good side, but the moment it goes bad…” he makes a slicing motion by his neck.

Bodhi makes a sympathetic noise. “Did that happen to you?”

He shakes his head as he takes another bite. “No, no, I just failed because of bad business. I was a moisture farmer, back there, but we’ve shut down recently and my sister is expecting soon. I do know how to cultivate land and, well, since that’s all I know how to do and the Empire needs people like me, I put two and two together and came here.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Bodhi hums. “I’m kind of on the same boat – all I know is how to fly so I applied to be a cargo pilot. My father is…” he pauses a moment and tries again. “He’s ill, and we need the money. It’s not an ideal job, but it pays well.”

“We’ve all got to support the family somehow, huh,” Krycek says with a grimace.

“Indeed we do,” Bodhi sighs. He raises his glass. “To making ends meet.”

“Hear, hear,” Krycek clinks their drinks and drains his own.

They end up exchanging information and promise to message each other once the whole program was done, and Bodhi feels rather pleased with himself for having made at least one friend on his trip.

He ends up looking for him during dinner, but instead, he finds Galen sitting by himself in the corner and somehow ends up sitting across from him.

Galen looks surprised for a split moment before giving him a small smile. “Ah, Bodhi, wasn’t it? Fancy seeing you again.”

“You as well, Galen,” Bodhi replies. “Kind of weird running into you again. How’s your, uh, secret project going?”

“Secretly,” Galen says, a slight twinkle in his eyes. “But otherwise well. What about your initiation program? How did that go?”

Bodhi stifles a groan. “I don’t think I should say ‘awful’, but if I never hear about the different types of Imperial codes ever again, it’ll be too soon.” He smiles a little when Galen chuckles and leans forward. “Did you have to attend one of these or did you go to one of those academies?”

The smile is still on Galen’s face but the warmth seems to have been drained from it. “My orientation wasn’t very… conventional, if you will. It is a long story – one that I don’t really like to talk about. No offence intended, of course.”

“Oh, no, it’s all right,” Bodhi says quickly. “I, uh, really don’t want to pry into your business, honestly.” He scrambles inwardly for a new topic of conversation. “What’s, uh, what’s the story behind this tower? No one’s actually talking much about it, even in the program.”

They talk like that for a while, Bodhi asking questions and Galen answering them, and neither really notice the time fly by until Galen’s comms buzz and he raises a brow. “Wow, would you look at that? How quickly does time fly by when you don’t pay attention to its passage.”

Bodhi nods, a yawn escaping his lips. “I should probably head back to my quarters. Don’t want to be late to the closing session tomorrow.” He starts to get up and smiles down at Galen. “It was nice seeing you again, Galen. I hope we get to catch up sometime if I’m in the area.”

Galen stands as well. “Just look me up and maybe, if your security clearance is high enough, I can finally tell you what I’m working on.”

“Really looking forward to that,” Bodhi jokes.

He’s in a good mood when he goes to bed that night, and once again, the Empire doesn’t seem so bad after all.

* * *

CT-7430 finds him after the closing session, but instead of leading him to the ship they came in, he leads him to a new landing pad and gestures to a ship. “This is it.”

“This is what?” Bodhi asks, not quite comprehending.

“Your ship,” CT-4730 clarifies. “One of our cargo pilots has fallen ill and you’re the closest available pilot, so you’re being deployed early.” He hands Bodhi the route information and Bodhi reviews it carefully.

“All right, that doesn’t look too bad,” Bodhi says slowly. “So just this quick assignment and then I wait to be deployed, right?”

“You’re being deployed early,” CT-7430 repeats. “That means you’ll be doing assignments until you’re given your reprieve period and then you rest and then the cycle starts again.”

“Oh,” Bodhi says. He thinks about protesting, or at least mentioning that he needs to inform his father of this new development before being deployed, but then he thinks back to what his group leader had said: _The Empire operates on efficiency – that is, if one cog in the system stops functioning, it could lead to ruin for everyone else._

So, instead of arguing, he takes a deep breath and heads into his new ship.

* * *

It’s a while until Bodhi’s free to return to Jedha City. He’s sent his father plenty of messages, but only half return answered and it leaves him no choice but to worry.

“You shouldn’t worry so much,” Krycek tells him, the sound of his voice wavering over the comms as Bodhi starts his descent into the city. “From what you’ve told me about him, it’s most likely that he’s just forgotten to reply.”

“You’re probably right,” Bodhi concedes, “but I really can’t help but worry.”

“You really worry a lot,” Krycek laughs. “All right, let me know how it goes.”

“Will do,” Bodhi says. He shuts off the ship once it lands and takes to the familiar streets of the city to find his way back home.

His father is where he usually is – on the couch, with a bottle in one hand and his holopad in the other. Bodhi gives his best effort of a smile. “Hey, Dad.”

His father grunts, then looks up at him with a frown. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“I’m here for my break,” Bodhi says. “I, uh, sent you a message a couple of days ago. I told you I was coming home.”

“And _I_ thought I told you not to come.”

Bodhi blinks. “No – no you didn’t.”

He snorts out a heavy breath. “Well, then, consider this me telling you – get out of my house.”

“I – what are you talking about?” Bodhi tries to take a step forward, but his father stands up. He’s taller than Bodhi, towering over him with a drunken yet powerful aura.

“Scum of the Empire are not allowed in this house,” he huffs. “You went – you _willingly_ went to them – those people, who destroy homes and destroy lives. You – you went, and you went to work _for_ them. I refuse – I _refuse_ to have you in my home. Now, _get out_!” He shouts the last words, as though Bodhi wouldn’t understand them unless he did, the stench of alcohol in the air as his father glares at him with such hatred that Bodhi hadn’t known was possible.

He leaves, of course. He doesn’t tell Krycek what happened because he himself can’t really understand what happened. He spends the few days of his vacation sleeping on the ship and leaves as soon as he receives an assignment.

* * *

The job itself isn’t all that bad.

Most of the time, he’s transporting some research materials or equipment from one facility to another. The people he’s delivering to are civil, at the very least, though some are friendlier than others, certainly. While the facility on Courscant all but ignored him, the Naboo facilities love to have him spend the night before leaving for his next assignment.

He does go back to Scarif a few times, and each time he looks for Galen, but he never ends up finding him and, eventually, he stops looking.

He really doesn’t think much of what he’s doing, or what exactly he’s transporting, because what good would that do? It’s not his job to know these things, only to move them from point A to point B.

He tells this to Krycek one day, spending his reprieve with him instead of at Jedha, and Krycek responds with an unreadable expression.

“Wouldn’t you want to know what exactly you’re a part of, instead of just letting them order you around?” he asks.

Bodhi shrugs. “As long as they keep paying me and my father, I don’t really care what I’m a part of.”

Krycek takes a long sip of his drink. “Speaking of your father, have you talked to him since your falling out?”

“I did, a little,” Bodhi admits. “He, um, apologised, as usual, and I forgave him, but I’m – I’m not ready to go back yet. I don’t really feel like being subject to that all over again, you know?”

Krycek nods sympathetically, rubbing Bodhi’s back. “Hey, if it’s any consolation, I don’t think you’re a terrible person.”

“That’s good to hear,” Bodhi says with a slight laugh.

Krycek is a good man, in Bodhi’s eyes. He’s a good farmer too, or so Bodhi assumes, since he doesn’t know anything about farming, but he’s always willing to talk to Bodhi and always lends an ear for him to vent into.

The thing is, he didn’t realise how much he didn’t know Krycek until his final visit with him. He doesn’t know it’s their final visit at the time – he just sees it as another casual visit to Krycek’s farm to spend some time with him.

Except when he gets there, Krycek is nervous, anxious, completely out of sorts. He drains an entire cup of Cordelian wine and starts on another before Bodhi even has a chance to drink from his own, and his eyes are wide and wild. Bodhi has no idea what to think.

“Are you all right?” he asks. “You seem a little… off.”

Krycek takes another sip and doesn’t respond for a moment. “Do you know what you’ve been transferring, Bodhi? Not in specific, but in general?”

Bodhi thinks about it for a moment. “I think it’s research equipment, really. Why?”

Krycek swallows hard. “I, um – my lover, they’re on Lothal now. I got a message from them the other day. They, um, they – they…” he trails off and finishes his drink. He takes a deep breath and looks at Bodhi. “You – you know you’ll never be allowed to leave, right?”

“What do you mean?” Bodhi asks slowly.

“I mean, you’re with the Empire – _we’re_ with the Empire. They own us now, Bodhi, and we’re not allowed to leave, not unless we’re dead and gone.” He lets out a heavy sigh and shakes his head. “You’re a good man, Bodhi, and I don’t want to put you in this situation, but – but you can’t trust them.”

Bodhi raises a brow. “Trust who?”

“Them, Bodhi, _them_ – the Empire! You can’t trust them.” He slams his hand on the table, and then grabs Bodhi by the shoulder. “Promise me. Please, promise me that you won’t.”

“I – I won’t,” Bodhi says. He takes his hands and gives them a squeeze, and that seems to be enough to calm Krycek down for the remainder of his stay.

He gets called into an Imperial base a couple of days later – not for a pickup but for what seems to be a questioning. He’s put into a room and an officer asks him questions about Krycek – how long he knew him, how well he knew him, what they talked about – and it takes Bodhi a few moments to work up the courage to ask, “Excuse me, but what is all of this about?”

The officer gives him a blank look. “Mister Krycek was caught in an attempt to defect from the Empire and provide sensitive information to the rebellion. This interview is to see if this is a conspiracy or if he acted alone.”

“Oh,” Bodhi says. He waits after a couple of more questions to ask, “What – what happened to Krycek?”

“He’s been executed on the charges of treason.” The tone of the officer is casual, business-like, completely impersonal, and Bodhi has no idea how to respond.

When he finally gets back to his ship, there’s a new assignment waiting for him. He thinks of Krycek, of the last few conversations they had, of the last thing he’d promised him, and he takes off to fulfil his mission.

* * *

“I’m not going off-planet,” his father says, when Bodhi makes the suggestion.

Bodhi takes a deep breath. “Dad, you’re sick. You need to go to this facility – they can take care of you, they can help you get better.” It’s one of those rare moments where his father is sober, and the moment Bodhi heard he was sick, he knew that they had to act as soon as possible.

His father sighs and shakes his head. “But – Jedha is my home. And I wouldn’t want to interfere with your… job.”

“It’s not a permanent move,” Bodhi assures him. “And I’ve talked to my superiors – they helped me arrange everything.”

“Bodhi,” his father says, voice low, “you know – you know I don’t want to be indebted to those – those people.”

“I know,” Bodhi says. “But it won’t be for long, I promise.”

And it isn’t for long. It’s only four months later when Bodhi gets the news that his father has disappeared from the medical facility on Naboo – no trace of his whereabouts anywhere. The message comes to him right before he gets the one about his promotion to a remote facility on a distant planet.

He heads back to Jedha one last time to pack away the last of his belongings there, before heading to Edu.

It’s not the first time his family has upped and disappeared. But it will be the last – he has no more family left.

* * *

Director Krennic is a terrifying man, Bodhi quickly learns. He seems nice, polite, civilized, but there’s something about the way he looks that chills Bodhi down to his very core.

He’s standing with two other pilots and they all listen as the Director briefs them on their new assignment.

“You will be stationed here, at this research facility, under the supervision of the engineers of the – of the Tarkin Initiative.” He spits out the last two words as though they’re the most vile he’s ever heard, and then continues as though nothing happened. “Whatever they require, they will order and you will go and collect for them.”

He stands in front of them and Bodhi feels his gaze bore into his soul. He looks down and focuses on his words. “Under no circumstances will you tell _anyone_ _anything_ about what you learn about this facility. Understood?”

Bodhi and the other two pilots nod, and the Director smiles at them.

“Good,” he says. “Errols, report to Sirro Argonne. Shura, report to Rasett Milio. And Rook, report to Galen Erso.”

The name rings in Bodhi’s ears and it stops him in his tracks for a moment. He remembers him – of course he does. He was nice to him, and it’s hard to forget something like kindness from someone you hoped would be your friend.

He manages to make his way to Galen’s office, where he was likely working, and it takes him all his courage to knock on the door.

“Come in,” Galen calls out, and Bodhi walks in. He sees him look up from his desk, eyes widening in recognition. “Oh – Bodhi.”

“Hey, Galen,” Bodhi smiles. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“You as well,” Galen replies. He stands up and walks over, leaning against his desk as he takes him in. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Neither did I.” Bodhi looks around the room. “I, uh, suppose this is the top-secret project you weren’t allowed to tell me about back on Scarif, huh?”

“Indeed, it is,” Galen says. “We moved here to finish it though, unfortunately, I am still not allowed to tell you what it is about.”

“I guess I’ll just stay in suspense then,” Bodhi shrugs. He pauses, then asks, “Would you want to maybe catch up over something at the mess hall? For old times’ sake?”

Galen looks at him before slowly smiling. “I would enjoy that immensely, Bodhi.”

* * *

Maybe because there’s a Krycek-shaped hole in Bodhi, but he and Galen quickly develop a camaraderie within the first few days of his assignment. When neither of them are doing work, they’re usually spending their time together, talking over food or experiments or whatever.

Bodhi didn’t realize how much he missed having someone to talk to until he got that back again, and Galen has that kind of aura about him, as though you could tell him all your problems and then, somehow, they would be fixed.

Of course, most of Bodhi’s problems aren’t fixed by just telling Galen about them, but he does manage to make Bodhi’s life just a little bit easier – he doesn’t get any assignments to Jedha, at least, and that in and of itself is a blessing.

Galen, he feels, is opening up to Bodhi in return. He doesn’t talk much about his work, but he does tell him about whichever one of his engineers is annoying him the most this week, or what ridiculous deadline Director Krennic set for him to meet (which he always does, somehow).

“We were very good friends once, Krennic and I,” Galen admits one night over dinner.

Bodhi thinks of the Director and raises a brow. “You and _him_? I really can’t imagine that.” He laughs when Galen laughs and can’t help but ask, “What happened, then? What stopped you from being friends?”

Galen lets out a low sigh. “We… we had a falling out.” He clears his throat and changes the topic quickly, and Bodhi lets him. He knows not to push, knows that Galen will tell him whatever he wants to tell him when he’s ready. And he doesn’t want to do something that would jeopardize their relationship.

It’s the highlight of his day, sitting with Galen, and Bodhi doesn’t want to give this up.

There’s one night, when they both share a bottle of Cordelian wine Bodhi was able to procure from his latest run, when Galen walks him back to his quarters and says, in a low voice, “You’re a good person, Bodhi. Deep down, you’re a good person. You just…”

“I just what?” Bodhi asks. He leans against the door and looks at him. Galen’s eyes are wide and Bodhi knows he could get lost in them.

“You just got in with the wrong people,” he finishes. “But you’re good. You can do good.” He pats Bodhi’s head and leans in to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Goodnight.”

Bodhi watches him leave. He tries not to think about it too deeply, but he smiles to himself all night.

* * *

“I had a daughter,” Galen tells him. He’s not looking at Bodhi, instead staring absently into the distance, neither mind nor body really in the present moment.

Bodhi doesn’t really know how to respond, so he just says, “Oh.”

“I called her Stardust,” he continues. “She was the light of my life.” He keeps talking about her, about what they did together, about how much he loves her, and Bodhi just sits there and listens.

He doesn’t dare ask what happened to her or her mother. He’s not sure if he really wants to know.

* * *

There’s a deadline coming, and Galen is worried.

Bodhi can tell. Galen tries not to show it, face relaxing whenever they’re together, as though all his troubles have vanished, but the moment he thinks Bodhi isn’t looking, his brow furrows with worry and his troubles return.

Bodhi knows something is wrong – something is very wrong, because Galen has never looked like this before – and it’s only one night while they’re sitting in Galen’s laboratory together that Bodhi tries to do something about it.

“Is there something wrong?” he asks.

Galen shakes his head. “No, everything is fine. Just a lot of work.” He tries to smile. It looks painful and forced.

Bodhi sighs. “You know, that’s a terrible lie.”

This time when Galen smiles, it’s distant and melancholy. “I was once told I was a terrible liar. I’ve gotten better since then, but I suppose sometimes I do slip up.”

“What’s really wrong?” Bodhi asks. He thinks about Krycek, about his cryptic last words, about what had happened afterward, and he leans forward. He takes Galen’s hands in his, gently, and says, “Please, tell me.”

Galen looks at him, really looks at him, and tells him.

* * *

Bodhi doesn’t talk to Galen for the rest of the week. His mind is reeling, unable to focus, unable to comprehend. He really can’t believe it – a machine that can destroy planets – entire _planets_ – and Galen has been slowly sabotaging it for years, all for the family he lost so many years ago.

Bodhi really can’t believe it. He doesn’t even know if he _should_ believe it – just knowing this information could put him and his entire life in jeopardy.

But then – Galen trusted him enough to tell him the truth, and shouldn’t that count for something?

He doesn’t talk to Galen for the rest of the week, but then, one night, someone slides a holodisk under his door and Bodhi knows that Galen wants him to watch it.

It’s somewhere on Edu – a couple of bathnas herded together in a huddle while a couple of Deathtroopers move around and operate some machinery. Bodhi isn’t sure what he’s supposed to be looking at, until they turn the machine on.

He watches the video again. And again. And again. And then he rushes to Galen’s quarters and opens the door and faces him and tries to speak. “I – I…”

Galen gives him a sympathetic look. “You watched the video?”

Bodhi nods. He takes a deep breath. “They – they can’t – they can’t be allowed to do that. They can’t be allowed to let that thing lose.”

“I agree,” Galen says.

“But,” Bodhi takes another breath. His hands are shaking. “But, if the Empire finds out we’re trying to – trying to stop them, they’ll kill us. They’ll destroy us. And then they’ll use this.”

Galen doesn’t respond, not at first. He walks over and puts his hands on Bodhi’s shoulders and looks him in the eyes. “Bodhi,” he says slowly, “look into your heart. Do you believe we should sit by and let the Empire get away with this?”

Bodhi looks back at him. He shakes his head.

“You’re a good man, Bodhi,” Galen says. His voice is a whisper now, barely legible. “You’re a very good man. There have been many times when you wanted to do something, to do the right thing, but you couldn’t, and I understand. I understand completely.”

He pauses, letting the words sink in. “But you can make up for those moments. You can choose to be brave, this one time, to do the right thing, and you can make up for all those moments you couldn’t follow your heart.”

Bodhi breathes in. His life seems to flash before his eyes, in the form of people – his parents, his sister, Krycek, Galen – and all the moments he let them down. He breathes out.

“Okay,” he says. “I’ll help you. I can – I can help you.”

Galen smiles at him, so wide and so full of hope, and then he. And then he kisses him.

For all his composure, Galen kisses like a broken man given hope. Bodhi kisses back like a man who’s going to die tomorrow.

* * *

“Is this it?” Bodhi asks, as Galen hands him a small holodisk.

“It is,” Galen says. He watches Bodhi secure it inside his boot. “You have an idea on how to find Saw?”

“I can ask around in Jedha City,” Bodhi says. “As long as I keep my head low and ask the right people.”

Galen nods. He swallows a little and reaches out to put his hand on Bodhi’s arm. “Please, be careful.”

“I will,” Bodhi promises, and it takes all his willpower to keep his hands from shaking.

Galen nods again, slowly letting his hand fall. “After… after all of this,” he says, slowly, “I think… I think I’d like to take you to see my old farm. I think… I want you to see it.”

“I’d – I’d like that,” Bodhi replies. His voice is soft, softer than it needs to be, and Galen smiles at him.

They kiss, briefly, desperately, and it seems like an eternity before they pull apart. Galen presses his forehead against Bodhi’s and whispers, “May the Force be with you.”

There’s a large lump in Bodhi’s throat and he just nods in return. He doesn’t look back as he heads for his ship, and he takes a deep breath with each step.

_Just be brave, Bodhi. Just be brave and do the right thing._

The disk is a heavy weight in his shoe and his hands don’t shake when he finally pulls away from Edu.

**Author's Note:**

> me: hey maybe you should write a fic without using a song title from the national  
> me: .... nah
> 
> Title from Baby We'll Be Fine by the National
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](http://poeorgana.tumblr.com/) if you wanna talk more about my son Bodhi


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